Our church community has been on a journey through the Heroes of Faith listed in Hebrews 11. In our community, we have a number of teachers who share the load of teaching on Sunday mornings. As the calendar came together, I was tasked with teaching on Isaac as a Hero of Faith. When I first found this out, I did not realize how difficult of task this would be.
The difficulty lies in our modern lack of oral traditions and extra-biblical resources in regard to the basis of Isaac’s story. We do not know exactly what the writer of Hebrews meant when they wrote,
“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.” Hebrews 11:20
The writer of Hebrews must have had some other knowledge or tradition beside the narrative passed down to us in Genesis 27. However, we do have some knowledge of a few thing mentioned in Genesis 27
In the modern western culture, we do not necessarily understand the importance of the birthright to the firstborn (primogenitor.) So here a few facts that help us understand the weight and importance of firstborn birthrights.
First, the ancient jewish birthright was promised to the firstborn male in the family.
Second, it came with responsibility and leadership. Third, it entitled the firstborn son to double the inheritance of the rest of the siblings. Fourth, birthright came with a responsibility for the household (siblings, mother, servants, livestock, etc) when the father died. There was a promise of inheritance and responsibility came with this custom. In some since, the son takes the father’s place. He became the image of the Father. This right is what Jacob stole from Esau in Genesis 25.
Another custom that we tend to not understand in its ancient origins, is ancient Hebrew blessing. First, it is understood that the greater blesses the lesser (a father blesses a son.) Second, the blessing is a sign of special favor that is intended to result in prosperity and success. Third, the blessing is actually an invocation for God’s blessings. This places the source of power in the blessing from God and not humans, who are vessels of God’s power.
This helps us understand the terribly sad story, in which Isaac is tricked into blessing Jacob instead of Esau in Genesis 27. In this story, we see a very dysfunctional family. In some ways, I am sure we can relate! This story is so sad, because Esau looses all of what he expected for receive from his father. His birthright was stolen, and now so is his blessing. We may have a hard time imagining the shame that this would bring. Esau had gone out to go hunting for his father. He would have been so proud, yet ended up in shame.
Yet, in this dysfunction, a prophesy from the God was fulfilled. That prophesy is found in Genesis 25:23 where it says:
“The older shall serve the younger.”
It is interesting that Isaac, after finding out what has transpired in this deception, does not try to take back his blessing. He doesn’t change anything really. He seems to accept the fact that the blessing came from God and that God was sovereign in the situation. Even though this may seem unjust and wrong to us, we do know the following statement is true: God works and is sovereign in the midst of our dysfunction and the brokenness of of the world. In fact, if we are honest, we can admit that God works not just in the midst of, but through our dysfunction.
The thesis statement of the Heroes of Faith section of the scriptures is this,
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”
I think that Isaac was someone who had learned to trust God when he could not see. As a young man, he had been bound and placed upon an altar in the typical fashion of animal sacrifice. His hands and feet would have been bound together. We do not know whether Isaac was blindfolded or unable to see, but for sure he was not the one in control. He had been told, that God would provide a sacrifice, and was forced to trust that. We see that God did indeed provide a sacrifice.
Then, in Genesis 27, the story begins with pointing out that Isaac was old and his eyes were weak so that he could not longer see. In story, Isaac also goes through other senses that he obviously was not able to rely on. He touches the arms of Jacob, he hears the sound of Jacobs voice, he tastes the food given to him (ironically cooked by Jacob’s mother and no by Jacob himself), he smells the garments that Jacob wears.
It seems, that finally Isaac must land on trusting in some thing unseen. This seems strange to us, because in that trust, Isaac was deceived! However, it is not as if God was deceived. God was working through the dysfunction in this Hebrew family.
This idea, has really challenged me recently. Just as Isaac trusted, so did Jesus. Imagine the trust required by Jesus on the cross. In fact, we even see Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Luke just before his death. He says, “into your hands I comment my spirit.” Some translations read “entrust my spirit.” Despite, the Roman torture, the abandonment of friends, the rejection by the Jews and His own family, Jesus trusted amidst the darkness and deception. Honestly, God was working through the darkness and deception to overcome it- to make a spectacle of it.
So, returning to Isaac, we see that he trusted God to be sovereign in the midst of deception from his son and his wife. It is east to talk about having this trust, but this is easier said than done. If we are honest, sometimes we need to practice or discipline ourselves to trust. I have found that observing the rhythms of the church calendar is very beneficial to my learning to trust, especially the season of Lent.
For some of us, Lent may only bring memories of only eating vegetables and fish on fridays. Yet, as mature followers of Christ, we should not necessarily throw the baby our with the bathwater. Just because a certain tradition in the church has experienced abuses (and they all have) doesn’t mean we get rid of everything that has come out of that tradition. Just so, Lent includes a number of practices and disciplines beneficial to the Christian faith.
Lent is a time of preparation and repentance as we look forward to the great triumph of Jesus over the brokenness of our humanity, sin, and death. In it we follow Jesus Christ from His baptism and through His forty days in the wilderness. In it, we learn to trust in God for our salvation and not in our own flesh. In it we choose to die to ourselves and live in Christ and learn not to control, but to let God control. Lent is the perfect time for us to begin returning to a trusting relationship with God, even in the dark, dysfunctional, broken, and deceptive world we live in.
Why is Isaac a hero of faith? He trusted when he could not see. He let God be sovereign and be in control.
So may we also learn to trust. May we learn to let God be sovereign amidst the darkness and may we put that trust into practice.
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